THE LION KING: A Heartfelt Tribute To The Legacy Of The Animated Classic

If you’ve been on the internet for five minutes over the course of the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard many of your connections’ thoughts on Disney’s newest release, a “live-action” (all-CGI) reimagining of what may very well be their most iconic and widely beloved animated classic of all time. It’s likely that most of what you’ve heard about the film leading up to its release has been negative but it’s a surprisingly efficient remake that acts as both a touching tribute to its predecessor and a breathtaking standalone epic in its own right.

Letting Memories Cloud Judgement

When judging a film like this, it’s hard to really be able to make the ultimate decision of answering the big question: between the source material and the new version, which is superior? Something that needs to be taken into consideration is the fact that the original has an insurmountable legacy that can not – and will not – ever be topped. It’s too treasured a story to be run over in a wildebeest stampede, and the film’s iconic drawing of Simba might as well be forever tattooed on the back of our culture.

When scrolling through the comments leading up to The Lion King‘s release, most people argued about the facial expressions of the once-exuberant characters, the vocals not sounding quite up to snuff, and the film itself coming off as a completely unnecessary product crafted by Disney solely to score another massive box office haul. Whatever one wants to think about the new adaptation, it’s completely up to them. It might be more easily accepted if one actually sees the movie before commenting, but it’s not my decision. Everyone is entitled to express their opinions. It is, however, unfair to completely absolve the original film of its shortcomings simply because of its iconic status while shaming the new one for simply attempting to retell the classic story in a new way.

I rewatched the original Lion King the night before I went to see the remake, and upon reflection, it’s not nearly as good as I remembered. Then again, it was never a staple of my childhood like the early works of Pixar or Dreamworks were, but certain elements about it just felt off when deeply examined, not the least of which were a weak script, uneven pacing, just “passable” voice acting, and some questionable choices in regards to the filmmaking itself. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Nala’s seductive sex eyes don’t exactly strike me as something that one can take seriously in this day and age. It should also be brought up that most of the original voice cast is white, and when your story takes place in the Pride Lands of Africa, it helps to have a more diverse cast behind these characters. Thankfully, that’s something the new one fixed, but you don’t see many loyal fans of the original raving about this, now do you?

What Does the Remake do Better?

One of the main reasons I was even anticipating the Lion King remake in the first place wasn’t even related to The Lion King itself. In all honesty, I was more excited to see how a movie like this would deliver after viewing director Jon Favreau’s 2016 remake of The Jungle Book. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like the reception to that film was much more widely agreeable as a result of audience expectations, namely the fact that not enough audiences really liked the original all that much.

It’s a compare-and-contrast scenario, and it appears that what tends to happen is the more well-known and beloved a movie is, the more people are going to walk into the theater already wanting to loathe it and, generally, will self-fulfill their own prophecy, thus not allowing them to simply appreciate the movie on its own merit. In all honesty, I’d go so far as to say that this film is, in fact, more superior than its predecessor. It does many things greater and reinvents the story itself.

Now, that doesn’t mean the two should be directly compared at every turn; in the end, they are two different movies. If there is going to be a comparison between the pair, though, both should at least be given a fair shot and analyzed equally. It shouldn’t be assumed that one is automatically better just because it’s the first. Are there things that the original does heads and shoulders above the remake? Absolutely: the musical numbers being a prime example of that. It’s not that these recreations of the classic songs aren’t imbued with magic, but the originals are called classics for a reason, and it’s easy to prefer the more colorful and lively tunes over ones that are a bit less so. Donald Glover and Beyoncé aren’t given enough of a chance to show their capabilities as Simba and Nala later in the movie, though they’re still better than Matthew Broderick and Moira Kelly in the 1994 film.

When it comes to the rest, however, this easily wins out. The visuals are ten times more gorgeous, the comedy more delicately balanced and overall well-executed. The character of Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has always been more of a coward, but at least he’s more imposing here, and the hyenas aren’t just negated to the sidelines. Even when they serve as the comic relief, the film never stoops to a level where it dumbs down its audience (removing Ed was one of the best decisions Disney has made in recent memory). Timon and Pumbaa – a perfect duo in Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen – absolutely steal the entire movie with their genuine charm and chemistry. Even the ending itself feels more satisfying, reinforcing the fact that there’s an actual payoff to the previous fifteen minutes.

The Lion King: Conclusion

Something problematic about the hate for this movie is that most of it is directed at Disney because apparently, Disney is a human being who can just make a movie on their own without any help. Many people are employed because of filmmaking, not the least of which are produced by Disney, and it’s honestly quite shocking how insensitive people are towards all of those who worked on this movie simply because it’s a movie that they don’t like (or don’t know if they’d like if they haven’t seen it).

The thing is, there will never be an end to the debate over which film is better because both are stunning achievements in their own right. For those who are heavily against this reimagining, you’ll always have the original, and despite its many flaws, I still find it an enjoyable enough movie, if not a heavily overrated one. For those looking for a film that both acts as a tribute to its roots while never straying from the course it’s set off on, I implore you to go in with an open mind. You might be heavily surprised with just how incredibly refined and mesmerizing it is.

What are your thoughts on the new Lion King? What’s your favorite Disney remake? Let us know in the comments!

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